Many computing environments comprise a large and diverse set of objects managed by a set of object systems. For example, a computing environment may comprise a set of files managed by a file system, one or more databases managed by a database system, a set of executable binaries representing applications and managed by an assembly cache, a set of user profiles managed by a user profile component of an operating system, and various data caches managed by data caching components, such as a set of copied items managed by a copy buffer of the operating system, a set of undo actions managed by an undo component of the operating system, and a set of “most recently used” items managed by an item usage tracking component of the operating system. Moreover, such objects may be exchanged among a plurality of devices operated by one or more users, and according to one or more operations (e.g., an object synchronization operation that merges two object sets and an object mirroring operation that adjusts a target object set to match a source object set.) In this manner, the objects are loosely organized through a set of object systems and aggregated to represent the computing environment.
Application management within conventional computing environments often involves considerable user involvement. For example, a user may independently discover a desired application, and may procure an installer package, such as a setup executable or a CD-ROM containing setup files. The user may then utilize an application installer that facilitates the deployment of the application in the computing environment, such as by copying files to specific locations and creating registration information. However, following application deployment, computing environments typically provide little ongoing support for the application, sometimes comprising only an uninstaller application. Common maintenance tasks such as execution, sharing, synchronization, and updating are commonly relegated to the application. Moreover, the deployment of the application on one computer system or device rarely enables or facilitates the deployment of the application on other computer systems or devices, even if operated by the same user and utilized for a common purpose on two or more such platforms.